WORK PAPERS OF SIL-AAB
Series B Volume 9
AN INTERIM DJINANG DICTIONARY
October 1983
WORK PAPERS OF SIL-AAB
Series B Volume 9
AN INTERIM DJINANG DICTIONARY
Compiled by: Bruce Waters
SUMMER INSTITUTE OF LINGUISTICS
AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINES BRANCH
DARWIN
October 1983
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NATIONAL LIBRARY OF AUSTRALIA
Cataloguing in publication Data
Waters, Bruce. An interim Djinang dictionary.
ISBN 0 86892 270 6.
1. Djinang language - Dictionaries. I. Summer Institute of Linguistics. Australian Aborigines Branch. II. Title. (Series: ¥ork papers of SIL-AAB. Series B; no. 9).
499' .15
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PREFACE
These Work Papers are being produced in two series by the Summer Institute of Linguistics, Australian Aborigines Branch, Inc. in order to make results of SIL research in Australia more widely available. Series A includes technical papers on linguistic or anthropological analysis and description, or on literacy research. Series B contains material suitable for a broader audience, including the lay audience for which it is often designed, such as language learning lessons and dictionaries.
Both series include reports on current research and on past research projects. Some papers by other than SIL members are included, although most are by SIL field workers. The majority of material concerns linguistic matters, although related fields such as anthropology and education are also included.
Because of the preliminary nature of most of the material to appear in the Work Papers, these volumes are being circulated on a limited basis. It is hoped that their contents will prove of interest to those concerned with linguistics in Australia, and that comment on their contents will be forthcoming from the readers. Papers should not be reproduced without the authors' consent, nor cited without due reference to their preliminary status.
Views expressed by the authors are not necessarily those of SIL.
Research resulting in this volume was partially funded by grants from the Department of Aboriginal Affairs.
To order individual volumes of the Work Papers, or to place a standing order for either series, write:
Bookseller SIL PO Berrimah Darwin NT 5788 Australia
S.K. Ray Series Editor
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INTRODUCTION
There are three dictionaries in this volume. The main dictionary is an alphabetically organized listing of Djinang words, and contains various fields of information for each Djinang entry. Thus an entry will contain several of the following fields:
1. Djinang word or phrase 2. Dialect information 3. Part of speech 4. English meaning 5. Roget's Thesaurus semantic category number 6. Illustrative example (either a sentence, or phrase, with English translation) 7. Synonyms (including speech and dialect variants of the same word) 8. Antonyms
Some of these fields of information occur in every entry (eg. 1, 3, & 4); some occur in most entries (eg. 2, & 5); some occur in a relatively few entries (eg. 6, & 7); while antonyms (8) occur in only a couple of entries.
If a Djinang word or phrase has more than one sense, the entry will give all the Djinang senses. I have tried to give enough English senses to indicate the semantic range of a Djinang word in those cases where I know a single English gloss to be too restrictive. For each such sense, I often give a Roget category number as well particularly if the category numbers differ.
Synonyms are usually given at the end of the entry, or after the first of the English meanings. Normally a synonym will have the same range of meanings as the main entry, though not always. The reader should check in the dictionary where the synonym is listed as a main entry to see its range of meanings. It must not be assumed that the range of meanings and the listed synonyms given for any entry are exhaustive. The dictionary represents only my knowledge of the language at the time of writing, and will be expanded by subsequent field work.
In addition to the main dictionary, the volume contains two 'reversed' dictionaries. One is a reversal organized
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around the English 'keywords' (ie. the words of an English gloss which I judge to be significant as abbreviated indicators of the full sense), in alphabetical order. In this reversed dictionary, the only other fields of information in an entry are the Djinang word or phrase, and Roget's semantic category number. These latter two permit cross referencing of the other reversed dictionary as well as of the main dictionary.
The other reversed dictionary is organized around the Roget Thesaurus semantic category number, entries being arranged in ascending numerical order. For any group of entries having the same number, the entries are mutually ordered with respect to the Djinang word or phrase. The only other field included in an entry is the 'keywords' field (although not present in every entry), which permits cross referencing of the other reversed dictionary. The Roget numbers are taken from the 1975 edition of Roget's International Thesaurus published by Penguin Books. In that book, the numbers range from 1 to 990. I have added a few extra numbers, to facilitate the grouping of grammatical items and small closed classes of lexical items. The extra numbers used are as follows:
994 interrogative particles 995 suffixes (both inflectional and derivational) 996 logical relators (ie. markers of kinds of dependent clauses) 997 pronouns (both full form pronouns, and pronominal clitics) 998 modals
1001 body parts (including psyche terminology) 1002 particles 1003 negatives 1004 reciprocal/reflexive 1005 ejaculative 1006 deictics (ie. demonstrative words) 1007 auxiliary verbs
This completes the introductory discussion. In the discussion which follows, I will give more details of the contents of each of the fields of information in the main dictionary particularly any notational abbreviations which are used. I will also comment on the orthography, the genetic affiliation of Djinang to other Yolngu languages, and various other topics.
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GENETIC AFFILIATIONS
At the time of writing, Djinang appears to be a member of the Nhangu group of languages in the Yolngu family. This was first suggested to me by Ray Wood of the Summer Institute of Linguistics, on the basis of survey work carried out by him in 1973 (approximately). Later, independently, David Zorc of the School of Australian Linguistics suggested the same affiliation on the basis of a small corpus of Golpa language data collected in 1981. (Golpa is one of the Nhangu languages, and the territory of its speakers lies in the north eastern extremities of the Wessel Islands). My own field notes, together with Djinba data which I have recently collected and the Yan nhangu data (Crocodile Islands), strongly supports the affiliation suggested by Wood and Zorc. In fact, while the evidence for Djinang being a Nhangu language is quite good, the evidence for the same affiliation for Djinba is even better.
DJINANG DIALECTS
There are currently seven principal Djinang speaking clans; some of these are small (one near to extinction, though with potential for survival), while others are quite large. Each such clan has its own speech variety, although the linguistic realizations of dialect differences are various and the linguistic distance between each dialect varies according to the clans being considered. Thus, Manyarring and Murrungun clans' speech varieties are almost identical, while both differ markedly in some features from Marrangu. As I will be publishing separately on this issue, I will not go into details here. For some clans, the dialect name is a more convenient label than the clan name (eg. Wuḻaki), and will be used in this volume. Each clan is given an abbreviation as follows:
Clan (or Dialect) Abbreviation Moiety Manyarring mn Djuwing Marrangu ma Djuwing Murrungun mu Djuwing Balmbi ba Yirritjing Djaḏiwitjibi dj Yirritjing Mildjingi mi Yirritjing Wuḻaki wu Yirritjing
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If a word is used by all clans, the entry for the word will give 'all' (or possibly DJN) in the dialect field, instead of listing all the clans individually.
My fieldwork thus far has been limited to the Djuwing dialects, and principally in the Marrangu and Murrungun dialects. Information about other dialects comes mainly from information supplied by speakers of Djuwing dialects. I express my appreciation to my principal teachers: Joe Giḏarri (ma), Manbarrarra (mu), and David Malanggi (mn). I: addition, I have access to A. Capell's handwritten field notes, most of which is in the Wulaki dialect, being gathered about 1941 or before. I extend thanks to various others who have supplied language data, both directly and indirectly: George Milpurrurr (Ganalbingu clan, Djinba language), Jack Merritji (ma), David and Kathleen Glasgow, Jeffrey Heath, Frances Morphy, David Zorc, Beulah Lowe, and Graham McKay.
In the main dictionary, I will occasionally cite a word from another language or dialect, and in such a case I indicate the language or dialect source by an abbreviation. The following are used:
DJAM Djambarrpuyngu DJB Djinba (dialect) GAN Ganalbingu (dialect) GUP Gupapuyngu LIYAW Ḻiyagaḻawumirr RITH Ritharrngu BURR Burarra
These are Yolngu languages or dialects, with the exception of Burarra which is a prefixing language to the west and north west of Djinang. Ganalbingu and Djinba are Yirritjing and Djuwing clans which speak the language called 'Djinba' in the recent literature. Other clans which belong to this language are Dabi (Yirritjing), Manydjalpingu (Djuwing), and Walmapuy (moiety?). The various clans exhibit dialect variations similarly to the Djinang clans. Ḻiyagaḻawumirr is closely related to Ganalbingu and Djambarrpuyngu, according to local opinion. In fact, a Djinang man once said to me: 'Gupapuyngu is the mother of Djambarrpuyngu, and Ḻiyagaḻawumirr is the mother of Gupapuyngu' .
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ORTHOGRAPHY AND COLLATING SEQUENCE
For ease of comparison with other Yolngu languages, the 'standard' Yolngu orthography is used herein, with the exception that:
1. Velar nasal is written n g and an n + g sequence is printed as n . g to avoid ambiguity with the velar nasal; and 2.. The vowel symbols e, o , and ä are not used becse vowel length is not contrastive in Djinang.
Although the Yolngu orthography is used, this in no way implies that this orthography is viewed as being an optimal practical orthography. There is accumulating evidence that speakers of at least some Yolngu languages have difficulty with the voiced versus voiceless stop symbols, and orthography testing would be very helpful.
The voicing contrast in stops is neutralised in word initial position. In a previous publication, I claimed that voicing was contrastive word initially ('Djinang Phonology' Pacific Linguistics Ser. A No. 60, Papers in Australian Linguistics No. 14, ANU:Canberra, p.12). In the light of further fieldwork, I have found this claim to be false. This brings Djinang into line with other Yolngu languages in this respect. The voicing contrast in word initial position is maintained consistently (and with meaning contrast) only in the two auxiliary verb forms: g i r i 'habitual aspect', and kiri 'progressive aspect'.
The collating sequence used for Djinang data in this volume is the following: abdḏdj giklḻmnṉnyngprrrtṯtjuwy
PARTS OF SPEECH AND TRANSITIVITY
The part of speech field is labelled 'PofS:' in the main dictionary. The following part of speech abbreviations are used:
adj adjective adv adverb aux auxiliary verb dm derivational morpheme dx deictic (ie. demonstratives) ej ejaculative
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ip interrogative particle lr logical relator modal modal n noun neg negative pro pronoun (free form or pronominal clitic) Pt particle recip reciprocal/reflexive suf suffix vO non inflecting class of suppletive verb v1 class 1 verb v2 class 2 verb v3 class 3 verb
The part of speech field also lists the transitivity value for a Djinang verb, if known. Four abbreviations are used: it intransitive dit di intransitive (ie. a 2 place verb, the second place governing Dative case) t transitive dt di transitive (ie. a 3 place verb, the second place being unmarked for case, and the third place governing Accusative or Dative case as Indirect Object)
The verb class paradigms are given in "Djinang Morphology' (Pacific Linguistics Ser. A No. 60, Papers in Australian Linguistics No. 14, ANU:Canberra), and details may be gained from that source. A revised analysis of Djinang verb classes is in preparation at the time of writing; the revision will correct a minor error and add complementary detail to the account of the semantic categories marked formally by verbal inflections. A simplified list of the main forms for each class, and the categories they often encode, now follows:
fut y .pst imp t.pst t.pst.irr t.pst.cont class 1 -gi -mi -wi -(ngi)li -nyiri -nyi class 2 class 3 -gi -nmi -rri -(dji)ni -ṉiri -ṉi -dji 0 / -rri -yi -ni -nyiri -nyi
The categories abbreviated above are as follows, and these will very occasionally occur in entries in the main dictionary:
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fut future y.pst yesterday past (any definite time in the past which is not the same day as the speech event) imp imperative t.pst today past (any past time on the same day as the speech event or contemporaneous with the speech event in which case the event must be punctiliar) t.pst.irr today past irrealis (the unreal mood of the today past tense) t.pst.cont today past continuous (continuous aspect in the today past tense)
In the dictionaries verb forms are cited with future inflection. It should be noted, however, that Djinang speakers use the imperative as the citation form (and so do Djinba speakers). The imperative is sufficient for indicating class membership, but I chose the future as the citation form because it exhibits the least allomorphy.
MEANING FIELDS
The content of meaning fields is fairly straightforward; a few comments are apt at this point, however. Firstly, information of an ancillary nature is sometimes included in one of the meaning fields of an entry. Such information is enclosed in parentheses, and pertains to the entry as a whole rather than to the particular meaning with which it occurs. Information about stem or inflectional irregularities, or a cognate form from another language, is typically presented in this way.
Djinang, and Yolngu languages generally, is rich in metaphorical senses for compounds usually formed by prefixing a body part nominal to a noun or verb stem. I try to give the non metaphorical senses for such words first in the entry, and the metaphorical ones later; though I have not been fully consistent in doing this. For some compounds, I give a literal translation of the parts, enclosed in parentheses.
OTHER WORKS ON DJINANG AND DJINBA
The author is currently pursuing studies towards an MA degree in Linguistics at the Australian National University. In the course of these studies, various items will be produced. The major ones will be a grammar o f
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Djinang, and if time permits, a comparative wordlist for Djinang and Djinba (including verb inflections in the latter language). The thesis will include studies on dialect variations in Djinang, and linguistic diffusion in the western extremities of the Yolngu language area. Anyone wishing to obtain copies of this material should write to me in care of the Summer Institute of Linguistics at the Darwin address given in this volume. Copies will b available at cost, provided orders are received prior to the date of final production anticipated to be towards the end of the first quarter of 1984. A copy will also be lodged with the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies
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surface (from water) 298 baba Dia: all PofS: v0 confused 63 babakiṉdjidji PofS: v3 i t become mad 503 be drunk 949 babakiṉing PofS: n crazy person 583 babuḻu Dia: ma PofS: n carrying stick (carried over shoulder with prey each end) 630 ba aba atj PofS: adj uneven construction 259 Syn: djirridji ba aba atj unequal heights 29 A unequal status unworthy of participation 867 a Dia: ail PofS: pt and 1002 Syn: ga ba atj Dia: DJN GUP PofS: adv a Dia: all PofS: suf unsuccessfully 728 morphophonemic change from i to a. indicates partly correctly 55 non final element of list 995 briefly 114 Ex: ṉguṉngira djinngiri 'from that and from this' incompletely when phonetically lengthened, expresses Ex: ba atj bipini 'he did not quite kill it' duration ofevent unto complet ion 113 sever incompletely expresses contrastive emphasis on pronouns and protrude from (e.g. a spear blade protruding from deictics 532 flesh) 298 ama Dia: all PofS: ej ba atj narrgi PofS: vl i t mother (baby talk) 11 Syn: ngarebirri, mumngimi do unsuccessfully c.f. GUP ba atjun) 728 ang Dia: all PofS: suf genitive suffix 995 Syn: gi do partly correctly 55 expresses a benefactive function 'for' 903 ba awmiygi PofS: vl t Ex: nyuni buṯal ngirrangi 'you are good for me cause to burst open 263 historically reflects a genitive dative function ba ay Dia: DJN GAN PofS: n Ex: nyanngang 'as for him ...' banyam tree 366 atjuy Dia: all PofS: dm ba ayala Dia: GUP DJN PofS: adj to the other side (typically on deictic particles) bright (used in Djinang, but considered a GUP word) 784 417 further on (typically on deictic particles) 285 luminous Ex: ngunyiḻatjuy 'to further on' (Allalive ba ayaladjidji PofS: v3 i t function) be bright 417 Syn: djanggi arrdjigi (ma) aw Dia: all PofS: dm ba iridjigi Dia: mn PofS: vl t " qroup of ... (on kin nouns, often after suffix ar shoot 279 ERG) 995 h i t Ex: ngambirraraw 'group of mothers (ERG)' kill 362 Syn: mala make 164 some (on Kin nouns, often after suffix ar ERG) ba urru PofS: n 101 milky way (also design on hollow log bone coffin) 321
ba PofS: v0 1
balibigi Dia: all PofS: v2 t badji djirridji Dia: all PofS: v3 dit extinguish 418 Syn: djingirigi, malimdjigi be protector of (the sending away of intruders is put an end to 145 implied) 660 Syn: badji nyangi Ex: mar irri balibigi 'I will put an end to the take responsibility for 917 trouble' badji nyangi PofS: vl t balidji Dia: all PofS: v3 it hunt someone away (e.g. to protect another's die 361 possessions) 300 be sore 827 Ex: yandji badji nyang 'hunt away verbally' Ex: mil irri balidji 'my eyes are sore' badji wangidji Dia: all PofS: v3 t be very hungry 859 hunt away verbally (this word is rarely used, balinyirbi PofS: n yandji badji nyang is better) 300 death 361 Syn: badji nyangi, badji djirridji balinyiring ngu'ngurri Dia: mu PofS: phrase bagapagadjigi Dia: all PofS: vi it was lying dead 361 stagger 317 balmar iṯ PofS: n have no help when in trouble 661 fart 300 unprotected Balmbi PofS: n Bagaṯgaṯ Dia: mu PofS: n clan name (only a few women speakers remain) 708 a surname affiliated with Murrungun clan 561 Balngarra PofS: n bagiligi Dia: all PofS: vl t a Djuwing surname (clan affiliation unknown to fetch 771 author) 561 bring 273 Syn: marrgi balnggidjidji Dia: all PofS: v3 it Bagurra Dia: ma. PofS: n be afternoon 129 Syn: balnggiḻi a dialect name for the Marrangu clan 560 balnggiḻi Dia: all PofS: n bakala Dia: DJN GAN PofS: n afternoon 129 harpoon hook 723 balpaltjigi PofS: vl it bala Dia: ma PofS: adv climb repeatedly (up and down) 308 with feet astride ready for action (i.e. balanced balparigi Dia: all PofS: vl dit or braced) 28 come towards 293 Syn: guruḻtjigi (mn) Ex: bala djirridji 'stand with feet widely spaced' visit 882 stride with long steps 205 come against (of antagonists, or entities in bala Dia: DJN GAN PofS: n collision, e.g. cars) 716 fish tail 1001 balparinyakiṉing PofS: n bala' PofS: n visitor 297 house (non Aboriginal style) 192 balpirgiṉing Dia: all PofS: n bala ngurri Dia: ma PofS: vl it companion 880 take a long stride 267 balpiri Dia: mn PofS: adv Ex: inydji bala ngurri 'jump a long way' in company with (Subject must be non singular) 89 balay Dia: all PofS: adv Ex: balpiri lim kang kiri 'we will take him in long way (temporal or spatial) 199 Syn: bilay company wi th us' balayiḻi PofS: adv balpir in.ga PofS: phrase to a distant place 199 his companion 880 Syn: balparigiṉing balay ngurrum PofS: phrase baltjigi Dia: all PofS: vl it gone already 296 climb (ALL on object climbed) 308 balaypalay Dia: all PofS: adv be impaled by a spear (DAT on person impaled) 263 very far away 199 baltjnyirbi PofS: n balbawmiygi PofS: vl t step 218 spl it down the middle 92 baḻangawdjigi Dia: all PofS: vl t inundate 226 surround quickly with water 238 flood over 341
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bamawdjidji Dia: wu PofS: v3 it be invisible 444 Syn: djumiḻidjidji, maṉdjidji baḻarra Dia: ma PofS: n banbaḻ Dia: ma PofS: n pubic covering (made of grass) 228 dry season dwelling 192 Syn: guṉgi amili Syn: ngaṯnyin bambarr Dia: ma GAN PofS: n track (i.e. footprints, or similar) 548 baḻbaḻ Dia: ma PofS: n Syn: biḻa stomach ache 377 Syn: budjirri murtjnyirbi bambay Dia: all PofS: n baḻdji Dia: mn PofS: adv old woman 133 slowly 278 slightly 33 Syn: djayaḻ bambuḻi Dia: all PofS: n baḻdjurrdjigi Dia: ma mu PofS: vl t bark (of a tree) 226 kick 277 bark painting 551 mark direction on the ground with one's foot 281 bark canoe 275 baḻkup Dia: DJN GAN PofS: v0 tree type from which barks for painting are lower one's head (e.g. as when shy) 311 obtained 365 Syn: baḻkupdjigi bamburr PofS: n baḻkupdjigi Dia: ma PofS: vl it gift (given to fulfill social obligations, lower one's head 311 e.g. wife payment) 781 Syn: mundjarr baḻmar iṯtjigi PofS: vl t bamiri Dia: wu PofS: n spear 263 island 349 eat 301 bamtjigi Dia: ma PofS: vl t baḻmarrk Dia: all PofS: n put down and leave something (this word is unique wind 352 Syn: waṯi to Marrangu clan) 779 baḻngunda PofS: n discard totemic spirit of yam 982 ban Dia: all PofS: pt yam type 301 indicates contrastive information follows (occurs baḻpaḻ Dia: ma PofS: n clause initial) 1002 goose feather fan 340 while (indicating contrast, after second occurrence baḻpigi Dia: all PofS: vl t of 'ban') 14 hit 279 Syn: bungi on the other hand (indicating contrast) flick ban Dia: all PofS: suf press 378 now 995 pound then baḻtjam Dia: all PofS: n used to highlight information in its temporal large camp fire 379 setting in discourse 547 baman Dia: all PofS: adv for action temporally contingent on preceding long time interval 125 action (frequently used when shifting from long duration 113 background to main story line) 766 baman biligi PofS: adv ban ... ban ... Dia: all PofS: pt a very long time ago 125 on the one hand ... on the other hand ... (marks a bamanpi PofS: n contrast ) 14 old person (lit. from a long time) 131 Banambarridji Dia: mu PofS: n from long ago 125 place name (East of Glyde river in area of bamanpipm ngurruwagipm pirr PofS: Nanggalala; Murrungun) 184 phrase bananydjarr Dia: ma PofS: n from long ago at the beginning 125 bone used for pointing in sorcery 983 baman pirr PofS: adv bandayana PofS: n very long time interval 125 lightning 417 Syn: mimatjigi long duration 113 banimbirr Dia: DJN GAN PofS: n baman pirr biḻkirr Dia: ma PofS: adv morning star 321 very long duration of time 113 eye (metaphysical connotations) 438 bamaṯuka Dia: all PofS: n pipe (Maccassan origin) 388
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baṉ a Dia: ma PofS: n bapi djunupangir Dia: all PofS: n copulation 45 right shoulder 1001 PofS: baṉdany Dia: DJN GAN PofS: adj idiom refers to kin relation of 'qunydjirri' (father ) dry 342 11 non greasy bapiḻakuwa PofS: adv shallow 33 back towards here (the orientation point is in thick 205 previous context) 281 baṉ anydjidji Dia: all PofS: v3 it Ex: gadjigirrngiri bapiḻakuwa 'back to here from the track' become dry 342 bapiḻi Dia: all PofS: adv baṉ arr PofS: n to here 295 pain in groin or upper leg area 377 bapiḻi girri PofS: adv baṉ ira Dia: ma PofS: adv to here also 281 lengthwise 203 bapiḻingu Dia: all PofS: dx Ex: baṉ ira galbung 'place lengthwise' to this place here! <